The Supreme Court has stayed further exhumation of buried bodies of tribal Christians in Chhattisgarh villages and issued notice to the State government. The PIL alleges forced digging up of graves, denial of burial rights, and violation of fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a response from the Chhattisgarh government on a serious plea alleging that Christian tribals in the State are being denied the right to bury their dead in their own villages. The petition further claims that in several instances, bodies of deceased tribal Christians were forcibly dug up from burial grounds and shifted to unknown locations without the consent of their families.
The matter was heard by a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N V Anjaria. The Court issued notice to the State government and passed an interim order to prevent any further such incidents.
“Issue notice returnable in 4 weeks. In the meantime, no further exhumation of buried bodies shall be permitted,”
the Court said.
The interim protection came while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Chhattisgarh Association for Justice and Equality along with pastors, social activists, a doctor, and three local residents. The petitioners claim that the bodies of their family members were dug up from community burial grounds and taken away to undisclosed locations.
Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that Christian families in several tribal villages are being stopped from burying their dead in common village graveyards. He told the Court,
“The dead bodies are exhumed without consent and taken away to be buried in undisclosed locations,”
added Gonsalves.
According to the plea, these incidents are not isolated. The petition says that in several districts of southern Chhattisgarh, especially in tribal areas, there is a repeated pattern of bodies being dug up after burial and removed without the family’s permission.
The plea states,
“Exhumation and forced reburial of bodies at distant places, sometimes more than 50 kms away, constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of the deceased and their families, which is impermissible under Articles 14 and 21,”
the plea added.
The petition also alleges that burial grounds which were traditionally used by all villagers are now being informally restricted to certain religious groups. Christian families are allegedly being excluded and pressured to follow majority religious customs if they want burial within the village.
To show the seriousness of the situation, the petition refers to a disturbing incident from Bastar district. It describes how a burial site was allegedly desecrated in a village called Benur. The petition explains,
“Benur is a residential village in Bastar, Chhattisgarh. The hostility towards tribal Christians there is so extreme that, in a highly communal atmosphere, villagers exhumed the body of a Christian man who had been buried in the common graveyard for over twenty years. By then reduced to a skeleton, the remains were burnt to ashes and scattered with the deliberate intention of desecrating them and sending a threatening message to the Christian community,”
explained the petition.
The plea argues that such actions violate several fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India. These include the right to equality before the law under Article 14, the freedom of religion under Article 25, and the right to life and dignity under Article 21.
The petition also raises concerns about the conduct of local authorities. It alleges that instead of protecting affected families, the police often encouraged them to compromise and move the bodies elsewhere.
“The role of the Chhattisgarh police is very communal… While in many cases there was the possibility of peaceful burial in the village itself as per the tradition followed for generations, the body was forcibly taken out of the villages to a so-called designated place by the police and administrations,”
it said.
Further, the petition claims that several pastors who assisted grieving families in conducting burials as per Christian customs were arrested.
“Many of the pastors who buried the bodies in the village on the request of the families of the deceased were arrested and sent to police lock up and thereafter to jail.”
Through the PIL, the petitioners have sought directions from the Supreme Court to restrain State authorities and private individuals from interfering with the burial of deceased persons in their native villages. They have requested the Court to clearly declare that every person, regardless of religion, caste, or tribal status, has the right to be buried in the village where they lived, in the same manner as other communities.
The plea also seeks directions to gram panchayats to officially mark burial areas in every village for use by all communities without discrimination. In addition, the petition urges the Court to direct the State government to promote common or shared graveyards in order to encourage equality and social harmony among different religious groups.
Advocate Satya Mitra also appeared on behalf of the petitioners.
The case has now been posted for further hearing after four weeks, and the Supreme Court’s interim order ensures that no further exhumation of buried bodies will take place in Chhattisgarh until the matter is examined in detail.
Case Title:
Chhattisgarh Association for Justice and Equality & Ors v. State of Chhattisgarh
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